For Black Folks, the 2015 Emmy Nominations are a Premature Celebration

We live in a world where the Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series category includes Taraji P. Henson (Cookie Lyon on Empire) and Viola Davis (Annalise Keating on How To Get Away With Murder). Yes, two BLACK actresses nominated at the same time in the Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series category.

This is history. It is also only a minor victory.

In many ways, we are still fighting for equality in the entertainment industry. Equal representation, equal treatment, and equal acclaim. And this year’s record 64% gain in representation of Black actors, 18 versus last year’s 11, may make people feel like the battle is won (nominees: Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson, David Oyelowo, Queen Latifah, Andre Braugher, Anthony Anderson, Don Cheadle, Uzo Aduba, Reg. E. Cathey, Cicely Tyson, Khandi Alexander, Keegan-Michael Kay, Tituss Burgess, Niecy Nash, Michael Kenneth Williams, Regina King, Angela Bassett, and Mo’Nique). But, did Barack Obama winning the presidency of the United States mean that racism was over? Did it mean that all people’s has a truly representative body of elected officials? Of course not.

Just yesterday, Nicki Minaj tweeted about racism in the music industry only to face backlash from Taylor Swift, mainstream media, and her minions.

If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

First and foremost, this change has been mostly driven by cable’s domination. Overall, broadcast networks counted 161 total nominations, while cable networks raked in 248 and streaming platforms earned 47. These outlets, including streaming sources like Netflix, have quickly become the go-to places for progressive and creative content. And as that reliance has grown, diverse representation has followed for the drama-heavy carriers. But cable series largely have smaller audiences. Network stand out American Crime is the only network series to crack the top 10. And even in its brilliance as a series, it still struggles with viewership. In truth, the majority of eyeballs are watching shows on CBS, an outlet that is known to be lacking in diversity.

What many are overlooking in this year’s nominations slate, is what the whole body of noms represent. It’s easy to focus on the aberrations like the Violas and Tarajis. It is much more difficult to take a look at the full nominations list and be critical of the largely White everything else.

This isn’t meant to undermine the deserved nominations of any awards contenders. This is to undermine the entire faulty foundation of Hollywood. As we’ve stated time and again, “liberal” Hollywood has taken “bold” steps toward diversity. Television, moving quicker than film, has begun producing shows and casts more representative of the country’s population. However, that does not mean that we have to look at the Emmy’s from a “take what we can get” perspective.

“This trend makes sense, it’s going toward a great direction. But still, we have to say 18 nominations and it’s 2015? How long have the Emmys been going on? I’ll be glad when it’s 25 or 50 if it’s fair and it just makes sense.”

Black people are talented but still sorely underrepresented both in front of and behind the camera. While I can look at this year’s nominees and congratulate them for finally being recognized for their hard work, I can’t dismiss the many that could be doing the same if not for the white-centric casting trends in Hollywood.